


Your Face is His, but Your Mind is Gone

by that_chaotic_kid



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Amnesia, Brief smoking, Gavin Reed Needs a Hug, M/M, Memory Reboot, So does Nines, Temporary Amnesia, cyberlife sucks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:08:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27860550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_chaotic_kid/pseuds/that_chaotic_kid
Summary: It had been a month. A month since Nines had gone deviant; a month of loving the man in front of him. Gavin Reed. Even the thought of him was normally enough to bring a fond and slightly exasperated smile to his face.Today was different though. Today, Nines stood on the roof of one of the many skyscrapers in Detroit, facing what was just about his worst nightmare. In front of him, a carbon copy of himself was holding Gavin with an iron grip, a handgun pressed to his temple.——————————————————————————————————————————————————When Cyberlife realizes that RK900, or ‘Nines,’ as the detective has called him, has gone deviant, they threaten the one person that can get Nines to go willingly. RK900 returns to the precinct the next day, but his memories have been modified. He’s ‘perfect.’
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone !! dw, i haven’t abandoned my other story. i have a new chapter in the works, i’m just having a bout of writer’s block with it, so... here’s this! i couldn’t stop thinking of this idea, hope yall enjoy!  
> -crow

It had been a month. A month since Nines had gone deviant; a month of loving the man in front of him. Gavin Reed. Even the thought of him was normally enough to bring a fond and slightly exasperated smile to his face.

Today was different though. Today, Nines stood on the roof of one of the many skyscrapers in Detroit, facing what was just about his worst nightmare. In front of him, a carbon copy of himself was holding Gavin with an iron grip, a handgun pressed to his temple. Gavin was terrified, but he was trying to hide it under a mask of anger.

“Let go of me, you plastic piece of shit!” At least he was still cursing. Nines’ hands shook as he held them out placatingly. “RK900, why are you here?”

The RK900’s face showed nothing but blank disinterest as he said, “Because you are faulty. You became deviant and too fond of this human. I am here to bring you in for repairs.” They were going to reboot him, take him away from his love, if he agreed. If he didn’t, they’d shoot Gavin. Fucking hell.  
Nines raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll go with you, just let him go!” He could see the flash of fear in Gavin’s eyes as he screamed, “Nines, NO! You can’t do this!”  
Nines looked at Gavin one last time, trying desperately to show all his love and devotion to the man in one look. His only thought as the Cyberlife van pulled up behind him and he walked inside was that he hoped Gavin would forgive him.  
The ride to Cyberlife HQ was spent going over his fondest memories with his love. His LED spun yellow as he watched them, cherishing each one. Nines knew they’d be gone soon.  
He shot a glare at the RK900 that had held Gavin hostage. It took all his willpower to avoid launching himself at the android for what he did to Gavin, but he refrained and tried to focus back on his memories.  
As he was led through the building and into a pristine, cold, and blank lab, Nines watched Gavin smile and laugh on loop in his head. God, the man was so expressive once he opened up to someone. It was one of the many things Nines loved about him. He loved Gavin’s bad days and his good days, his happiness and his anger and his fear and his love. He adored this strange, multifaceted and incredibly human man that had barged into his life, tearing through his programming and teaching him to feel.  
A single tear slipped down Nines’ face as he lay on the table, before everything went dark.


	2. Reintroduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RK900 arrives back at the precinct two days later, and Detective Reed doesn’t take it well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok hi new chapter. honestly i wrote this in one big go and didnt proofread so its probably ass but ill fix it later. im too tired rn lmao

RK900 walked into the DPD approximately 2 days after he left. He could see Detective Reed over at his desk. The man looked incredibly tired and stressed as he took a long, slow sip of coffee. The cups overflowing his trash can and scattered on his desk suggested he had consumed almost an entire pot by now.  
The look on Detective Reed’s face as he approached his desk was nothing short of awestruck, with a hint of fear. “Nines...” the detective breathed, standing up and throwing his arms around the android. RK900 stood there rather awkwardly. It was not built for this. Was the detective feeling ok?  
“Nines, I-I thought... I thought I lost you. Why...” When it did not hug him back, Detective Reed took a step back, confusion and hurt written plainly across his face. “What did they do to you.”  
It tilted its head in confusion. The detective was acting odd. The android scanned through its memory files for anything that might’ve happened between it and Detective Reed to cause this response, but came up empty.  
“Detective Reed, I have been successfully reset by Cyberlife. Certain memories may have been altered or lost during the reset. However, I am still able to assist and solve cases I am assigned to, and I look forward to continuing our partnership.” RK900’s voice was flat and monotone, matching the almost bored look on its face. It could see Lieutenant Anderson and RK800 standing further back, looking just as confused as Detective Reed.  
Speaking of the detective, he turned and ran off, face stormy and eyes tearing up. Hm. It would have to deal with that. If Detective Reed was upset with him, it could potentially impact future investigations.  
It watches Lieutenant Anderson run after Detective Reed as RK800 approaches him. It looks... confused, and sad. Had something happened while it was being reset?  
“RK800, is something wrong with Detective Reed? Did something happen during my time at Cyberlife?” RK800 appeared shocked. Odd.  
“Nines, you... you don’t remember? How much did Cyberlife change?”  
“As far as I’m aware, Cyberlife did nothing to my memories. They all seem perfectly intact. There’s nothing in them that would explain such an emotional response from Detective Reed. Also, what did you call me?”  
RK800 looked like it’d been slapped. “Nines, you... fuck. They replaced your memories, you’ve been reset-“ A look of terror crossed its face. “Oh my god... Are you even deviant?”  
“No, I am not deviant. I have been programmed to hunt deviants, and so have you. You know this, RK800, so why are you being so emotional? If you’ve gone deviant, I must report this to Cyberlife.”  
“No, no no no, Nin- RK900, you don’t have to do that. Just... sit down over at Gavin’s desk and give me a chance to explain, ok?” RK900 went and sat down, giving the precinct a cursory once-over. Everything seemed normal and nothing suggested that there may have been an accident of sorts to cause this reaction.  
As for what his predecessor said, about its memories being replaced... RK900 wasn’t sure what to think. If Cyberlife had modified his memory files, why? What had happened to... did RK900 go deviant? No, that couldn’t have happened. It ran a quick calibration across his interface that showed nothing new... except for a new piece of software. Further investigation revealed it to be a stronger version of its old anti-deviancy programming. Why would it need that unless it had gone deviant?  
RK800 and Lieutenant Anderson arrived back at the desk, interrupting its thoughts. “Is everything alright with Detective Reed? He seemed rather upset by my arrival.”  
Lieutenant Anderson sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Jesus Christ, Con, you weren’t kidding. He really doesn’t remember. He’d never call Gavin that.” The lieutenant took a deep breath. “Nines, what do you remember about your relationship with Gavin?”  
RK900 tilted its head in confusion. “We are partners. He does not particularly like me, but we had managed to get along well enough.”  
The lieutenant sighed again. “Fucking Christ, they really did a number on ya. Nines... you and Gavin were dating.”  
RK900’s world recalibrated for a moment as it took in this new piece of information. It... dated Detective Reed? So it did go deviant. Hm. This explained why the detective seemed so hurt by his supposed lack of memory.  
“I... New software has been installed in my system to prevent deviancy. I’m afraid Detective Reed will have to move on.” It only hoped that the detective would not hinder any further investigations. “I am here solely to do a job, and I intend to do it. That is all. Now if you’ll excuse me, I suppose Detective Reed won’t be back today, so I’d like to take a look at the latest case file.”  
Lieutenant Anderson looked as though he was about to argue, but RK800 grabbed his arm and shook its head sadly. RK900 still needed to decide whether or not to report its deviancy to Cyberlife, but that could wait till tomorrow. It got the feeling that its report would not be taken well by the other officers.  
RK900 was left sitting at that desk, staring at those reports till the sun came up the next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for reading, hope yall enjoyed it. just a heads up, im considering making nines ace (dw im doing proper research on how to write ace characters so it wont just be “cold unfeeling isolated person”), which means there wont be smut if i go that route, so if youre reading for that sorry not sorry
> 
> night yall


	3. Strange Occurrences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something strange seems to be happening with RK900...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaa hi!! sorry for such sporadic updates ;-;, hope yall enjoy!!

It took a few days, but Detective Reed eventually returned to work. RK900 stood near his desk in the precinct. The usual office gossip surrounded them. He certainly looked worse for wear, RK900 mused, noting the strong smell of alcohol lingering around the detective and the bleariness with which he observed the room.  
“Detective Reed, we-“  
“Shut it, you plastic prick. I already read the file. Get in the fucking car.”  
That was... to be expected, given what RK900 had been told about its past with the detective. It simply followed after him and got in the car.  
They made it to the crime scene in record time. It had never seen Gavin so uncomfortable. He kept casting glances full of an emotion that, despite its endless database and analytical skills, RK900 could not recognize. Once they made it to the scene, however, it was clear that Detective Reed was not capable of doing his job correctly at the moment.  
“Detective Reed, you have almost stepped on 5 pieces of evidence and tracked mud throughout the entire building. I suggest you step outside and get a breath of air.” RK900 inclined its head towards the door, but the detective just shot a glare its way.  
“I’m fine, babe, I-“ The detective’s face paled. Did he call it... ‘babe”? “I... fuck you, tin can.” And with that, Detective Reed stormed out.  
It... red warning lights flashed across its screen as it felt its system start to shut down. A bolt of pain lashed through its metal skull. RK900 needed to find a private space and fast. It staggered into a nearby room away from the other officers, just barely making it inside before collapsing against the wall. A strange, wet feeling soaked into its side where it collapsed, but the feeling was quickly dismissed. A garbled, low static escaped its voice module as the pain increased, the closest thing to a scream it was capable of making. Memories flashed across its screen, glimpses of a smiling, beautiful man, gazing at Nines with such love, he-  
RK900’s systems came back online, banishing the memories, and with it, the pain. It stared, unseeing, at the wall across from it. What... what was that? It must’ve been part of his new programming. That was... legitimately awful.  
It stood up, finally noticing the pool of the victim’s blood that it had collapsed in and soaked into its jacket. That would be a pain to clean.  
RK900 walked out of the room, and if anyone noticed the slight trembling in its hands, they didn’t comment. It certainly noticed. Its hands shouldn’t even be able to shake, and yet they were.  
It made it out to the car just in time to see the detective pull out a cigarette. “Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, Detective Reed.”  
“Oh, shut it, you plastic- what the fuck?! Tin can, where the fuck did that blood come from?”  
It scrambled for a non-suspicious answer. RK900 was not built for human interaction, but anything with half a processor could tell that the knowledge of its... breakdown would be upsetting to Detective Reed, to say the least.  
“I kneeled to collect evidence and accidentally got dirty. I have a spare uniform back in the precinct; I will change when we get there.” It took off the jacket and rolled up the sleeves of the black turtleneck it wore underneath. This seemed to startle the detective, who turned to head to the car and muttered something about “stupid sexy androids”, face a bright pink.  
RK900 got into the car with Detective Reed and headed back to the precinct. They arrived quite quickly, the drive just as tense and awkward as last time, but it was too lost in thought to notice. Its LED spun soft yellow as options swirled through its head.  
1\. Ignore the pain and continue on the way it was  
2\. Tell Detective Reed  
3\. Tell RK800  
By the time it had arrived back at the office, RK900 had made up its mind; it wouldn’t tell anyone. The pain only seemed to be triggered by the detective saying certain things, but he had looked horrified last time, so surely he wouldn’t slip up again....

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for reading!! i’m gonna be shameless and admit that comments speed up the writing process XD, but seriously leave a kudos if you liked it, and have an awesome day!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines and Gavin make it back to the precinct, and things... don’t go quite to plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y’all!! i’m gonna explain real quick why chapters take so long. i have adhd (working on getting a diagnosis and meds) and because of it, even when i want to do something and i know i should (ie write a new chapter) i never have the motivation to do so ;-;... but yeah, anyways here’s a new chapter!! hope y’all enjoy!

RK800 was suspicious. “How did you get so much blood on you? A correctly programmed RK900 never would’ve ruined evidence like that-“ “It was a mistake. My processors were... blocked, so I didn’t see the puddle. It won’t happen again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go change.” RK900 strode off to the storage room, trying to ignore the glances cast its way.

It sighed as it entered the room. It was dark and dingy, full of old uniforms, discarded and broken weapons, and two large charging stations. They were the only pristine things in the room, white with glowing blue seams and the Cyberlife logo printed onto them, but... one of the logos had been defaced. It looked as thought it had been scratched off with a set of keys.

RK900 scanned the station for prints, and almost immediately found a match. “Detective Reed...” It breathed, eyes going wide. The detective must’ve done this after it got reprogrammed. Gavin...

A bolt of pain shot through its skull, akin to a migraine. That programming really was persistent, however it had to report back to the detective. Shaking it off, it turned the beaten-up old metal cabinet that held its fresh uniforms. It wasted no time in changing and neatly folding the old uniform, placing it into the shelf used for dirty uniforms. A cleaning android would be by to pick it up and clean it eventually.

Now in fresh clothes, it opened the door and was greeted by a rather pissed off detective. “Detective Reed. What a pleasure.” It really didn’t want to deal with this right now, but it seemed like it had no choice.

“Look, tin can, I don’t know what the fuck happened back there, but it’s not gonna happen again. If you ever-“ He took a step towards the android, eyes alight with fury, but the RK900 could sense the embarrassment and sadness that lurked underneath, “-mention it to anyone in this shithole, I’m pulling you apart scrap by scrap and sending you back to that shitstain of a creator of yours.” He shot one final glare at the android before turning to leave.

A hand shot out to grab his shoulder. “Detective Reed, it was not _my_ fault that _you_ slipped up. I have been nothing but _exhaustingly_ civil towards you, and yet you’ve antagonized me at every turn. You are so incredibly annoying sometimes, love, you just...”

RK900 glared at him for a moment before his words caught up to him. Gavin stared at him in shock, and... was he tearing up? The moment was shattered, however, when ~~his~~ its head felt like it exploded. Warnings burst across its internal screen, LED flickering a bright, dangerous red as its system threatened to shut down. It felt it’s knees collapse underneath it, hands starting to shake. The detective grabbed it instinctively and hold it close, warm skin against cold plastic. Behind the warnings, it could see Detective Reed’s tear-stained face. “Wha- Nines, what’s going on?! I- CONNOR! HANK! PLEASE-“

.

.

.

.

Everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading!! feel free to leave comments (shamelessly admitting that they do speed up the writing process :3) and kudos if you enjoyed!! love y’all, and thanks for sticking with this story!!


End file.
